True test for England lies in defending Ashes

True test for England lies in their ability to defend the Ashes title in Australia, which is altogether a trickier business and a rare feat achieved only on four occasions by the Poms since the controversial Bodyline series of 1932-33, feels former English cricketers.

Beating Australia in England was the easy bit but most of the England's cricketers will discover in 15 months' time that winning the Ashes over there is not a child's play. Players from the successful tours of 1954-55, 1970-71 and 1986-87, have advised Strauss on what it will take to convert this summer's success into victory Down Under and those involved in the 5-0 drubbing Down Under in 2006-07 should need little reminding.

"To win in Australia you need a good captain and a balanced attack," said 85-year-old Trevor Bailey.

"In 1954-55 we had a very good captain in Len Hutton. And then, for the first Test, we picked four pace bowlers - Brian Statham, Frank Tyson, Alec Bedser and myself. Spinners Bob Appleyard and Johnny Wardle played in the other four Tests and it made such a difference. We won three of them. Tyson was absolutely outstanding but we won the series because we had a first-class captain and a varied attack," Bailey was quoted as saying by 'The Guardian'.

Michael Vaughan had said this week that victory in Australia would now be "the ultimate achievement" for Andrew Strauss's resurgent team. Only four England captains since Douglas Jardine have won the Ashes on Australian soil.

"England can win there next year," said Bailey. "But we need to develop a class slow bowler and I don't see too many in county cricket. There are a few leg-spinners coming through but to do well in Australia a leg-spinner has to be very good."

Ray Illingworth, the captain in 1970-71, said: "England will have to be 20 per cent better away than they were at home to beat Australia. That's to make up for the different conditions, ball and crowds."

"This most important thing for England and this won't happen so I don't know why I'm saying it. In 1970-71 we had four tough state games. And the state sides were full of Test players in them days. Barry Richards and Doug Walters both scored double hundreds against us."

"I still felt we were a little short of match practice before the first Test in Brisbane, which is why I played the extra batter there. Generally, though, I went in with five bowlers in that series, which is what you need to have ? a properly balanced attack," Illingworth said.

Illingworth also added that it's very difficult for one spinner to do the job when it's turning and and even when it's not turning, spinners can give you control.

"Adil Rashid is coming on really well. Otherwise England may struggle to get two spinners in the side, though Kevin Pietersen would be good if he was willing to put in the hours," he said.

Emburey, who was a good spinner, thinks the batsmen hold the key. "I think getting runs up front is the most important thing. Illy's side had Boycott, Edrich and Luckhurst all getting runs. On Gatt's tour we had Chris Broad leading from the front, with three centuries. That made it easier for Gower, Gatting and even Jack Richards to pile on the runs down the order. When your top order is firing you're controlling the game."

England have 15 months before they set out to retain the urn. The winter tour against the new No1 side in the world, South Africa, will ensure players do not rest on their laurels and keep players focused on the long road to next winter.

For John Hampshire, winning in Australia is about self-belief. Hampshire, a batsman on the 1970-71 tour, said: "You need a strong captain, which we certainly had in Illy. You need your best players. But beyond that it is about filling your heads with strong positive thoughts. Illy made us feel we were going to win. And if you don't feel that there's no point in going," he said